Governance

Bad government's ideal citizen.

There is an unfortunate melding of politics and governance in the U.S.. The two are not synonymous. Governance is the application of legislation in the public interest. Constitutions, statutes, ordinances are legislated by politicians and tested by politically appointed judges. Governance falls to the civil authorities who are charged with enforcing legislation. Rare exceptions are the U.S. President and governors of the fifty states, who hold the office of commander of armed forces, state police and national guards. 

When I attend civic association meetings in my neighborhood, I am often amazed at how confusing it is to determine who is charged of governance of certain civic functions. This speaks to the domination of our so-called democracy by the political class. A neighborhood park here, for example, lies on a street which was once considered a state parkway. It is under the governance of the state, even though it is now simply another Boston street running through Boston neighborhoods. As a result, getting any maintenance labor or supplies for that park becomes a journey through Byzantine bureaucracy. This enables both city and state public works staff to throw up their hands and avoid maintaining the park.

My own recent experience was parallel. I walked past a neighboring street which was undergoing road work for some time. There was a slight breeze on that sunny afternoon. A dust cloud had formed along that short street. It was so thick that the street at the other end of the short block from where I stood was invisible. As a nurse concerned with public health, I was angered. The construction companies who take these government-funded contracts are supposed to have water trucks and/or street sweepers on the site to prevent this problem, which could trigger asthma or other respiratory conditions. There was no water truck. There was no street sweeper.

It took a week and half-dozen emails to two city councilor offices to get confirmation that the city public works department was responsible for the situation. They are charged with site supervision of contractors. This week a privately contracted street sweeper was buzzing around the neighborhood. I also noted that the contractor rapidly wrapped up the work on the street which inspired my inquiry. It had been languishing with little activity for weeks previously. The contractor was apparently using the street as a heavy-equipment parking; the public works supervision by the city government had been inadequate. 

It is the responsibility of citizens to supervise governance in a democratic system. Totalitarian regimes rely on the laziness of the citizenry to gain power. Mussolini was lauded for making Italian trains run on time, for instance. Corruption thrives in a society where citizens do not supervise the governance on a regular basis. This citizen supervision is vastly different from campaigning for a politician in hopes of getting something out of it if he/she gets elected. Citizens are responsible for their own environment. Government is employed for doing the work of maintaining that environment. 

Practicing this form of humanist responsibility and action is a lonely job in current U.S. society. I am sure I am viewed as a crank by some within my own civic association. I forward my correspondence on city issues to the board of the civic association when I have clarified an issue with government officials or government contractors. There has not been an overwhelming response to that information, and nobody goes out of their way to associate with me at the civic association meetings. Politicians, however, are regularly present and are generally courted. 

This issue renews my commitment to the idea that humanism or any other standard of ethics is hollow without practicality. Talking about being responsible in society is not in itself being responsible in society. This is the failing of most organized religion. It is talk or "belief" without practice. It lies at the base of much of the duplicity and corruption in a society.